International Process Service

International Service is not the same as serving someone in the US. The rules, regulations and expectations are very different. Private Detective Services can assist you in serving your documents in any country worldwide.

If your service is going to be performed “Formally” (that is, in compliance with the Hague Guidelines), then once it is sent off to the Central Authority it is out of your hands and there is no control over how quickly or slowly the serve is completed. In addition, no mechanisms exist to routinely check the status of a service. The Central Authority will deliver your process documents to the appropriate court, which in turn will send the documents out through their own designated person to effect the service. After the service has been effected, a Return of Service will be prepared by the handling country and returned directly to your office. You should expect the entire procedure to take place over a period of 3 to 9 months, depending on the country where it is to be served. You will not receive status reports as you may be accustomed to domestically.

While we have representatives in many countries and we can request a status update on your behalf with the Central Authority or Court, we discourage this practice as it typically results in delays in completing the job. This is because each country has its own procedures and different tracking abilities than what we are accustom to in the United States.

By using Private Detective Services for your International Process Serving, you gain our knowledge and understanding of how documents are to be compiled with the translated version and how the USM form is to be prepared. This will help ensure that the documents are not sent abroad only to find out months later that they were rejected because of incorrect paperwork; thus delaying the time line to effect service.